The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is America's preeminent day. It is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in the month of November.  For our family it’s a day to come together as a family with close friends and reflect on the bountiful blessings God has given us throughout the year.  This year our table looked like the First Thanksgiving feast.  We gathered around the table with close American friends in Cebu along with some special Filipinos.  Just as the Pilgrims celebrated with and were thankful for the Native Americans, we feel the same about our Filipino family here in Cebu.  This year I was excited to share this tradition with Gepher as we celebrated "The First Thanksgiving" together in Cebu.

   

Mom and I spent the day cooking together.  Cooking here is more of an adventure than when we cook together at home (as you never know if you can find all the ingredients or not); however, the outcome was just as good.  The kitchen was filled with the smells of home and the holidays.  Even being on the other side of the world it felt and smelled like Thanksgiving.  We had all the southern Thanksgiving staples on the table and even had a new addition...RICE!  Mom and I wanted to make sure there was at least one familiar item on the table for Gepher.  Gepher was very adventurous and tried every dish as it was passed around the table.  He actually got so full off of the Thanksgiving staples that he didn't even eat the rice!  (I believe this was the first time I'd ever seen him not eat rice at a meal.)  We had a wonderful night chatting with another American/Filipina couple, playing Thanksgiving trivia, and listening to the sounds of Bluegrass music. 

Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude to God, who's guidance and care go before us and who's love is with us forever.  Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the changes, to remember we, too, grow and change from one season of life to another.

This year Gepher and I have a lot to reflect on and be thankful for.  Of course we are thankful for one another but we are most thankful for the gift of prayer.  Without prayer we would not be together.  Without prayer we would not know God's plan for our lives.  And without prayer we would not have a relationship with our heavenly father.

Thank you God for the ways you have blessed our lives more than we ever asked or imagined.